The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of the nut-bearing tree Carya illinoinensis, known as common Pecan and hereafter referred to by the varietal denomination ‘BYRD’. It can be used in gardens or for commercial production of pecan nuts.
The new pecan was selected from seedlings grown from controlled pollination on a farm in Watkinsville, Ga., in 1989. The parents of the present invention are “Pawnee” (not patented) and “Squirrel's Delight” (not patented). The seed parent was “Pawnee,” while the pollen parent was “Squirrel's Delight.” Graft wood of the original ‘Byrd’ tree has been propagated onto 28 trees in test orchards. The rootstock on which the present invention was propagated was “Elliot.”
In all cases, all traits including leaf color and shape, tree form, dichogamy, flower color, fruit shape, maturity date of fruit, nut shape, kernel morphology, and percentage kernel of the nut are identical to that of the original tree.